The Center is designed to conduct research and develop new materials for use in dentistry and the health sciences using a multidisciplinary approach by dental materials scientists, materials engineering scientists, and biological scientists. The research will focus on four main areas: (1) novel elastomers to be used for extra oral maxillofacial prostheses and permanently soft complete denture liners, (2) new rigid polymer-ceramic composites for tooth restorative applications having long term wear resistance and in vitro methods to simulate and evaluate the aging of these composites in the oral environment, (3) advanced ceramics for esthetic crowns and bridges with major increases in toughness and fracture resistance, and (4) valid in vitro and animal tests to predict the short and long term biocompatibility of dental materials used for applications ranging from implants to restorative materials. The research projects of the Center will be directed by five faculty members from the dental biomaterials area, four from the materials science and engineering area, one from experimental oral pathology and four from oral biology. These faculty will be assisted by research staff, postdoctoral researchers and graduate research assistants and thus the Center will serve as a training area for future primary researchers in biomaterials. The Center will be administered by the Director and Co-Director with advice from an Internal Review Board having a broad scientific and industrial perspective. The Center will serve as the focus of biomaterials at the University as well as nationally and internationally as a result of interactions with graduate programs, seminars, conferences, and visiting professor and scholar programs.
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